Thursday, August 30, 2007

For those who have not seen Nigella I thought I would share a snippet from one of her shows. I know you will all be drooling at what she is cooking.

I love the way Nigella makes NO apologies for enjoying her food. Why would she? Can anyone say that because she is not a perfect size 6 or 8 or 10 that this woman is ugly? Of course not! Then don't think it about yourself.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

The enjoyment of food is one of the joy's of life. Let us not fool ourselves we all enjoy delicious delights though there are many nutritionists who try and instill a fear of food in order that we will eat less. This has merit but it is not food that is making a whole generation overweight it is the portion sizes that we are eating.

We are eating more and exercising less in this age of technology as we become more and more sedentary in our everyday lives. It is this very inactivity that must change along with how much food we are consuming in a day.

Some magazines suggest we eat six or eight small meals a day, while other magazines say we should eat three well balanced meals a day. This can be confusing for who is right? Do we begin eating six meals or three meals?

What is needed is a sense of balance mixed with common sense. To deprive ourselves and our families of delicious foods is wrong. There is nothing wrong with eating desserts so long as it is done sensibly. We do this by remembering that we are filling our stomachs and not our entire body content, so make sure that the portion size reflects this.

One of the ways to achieve this is to place our food on plates or bowls that are smaller, rather than grab the biggest plate and load it up. As an example when it comes to dessert, one dollop of cream or one scoop of ice-cream over fruit or puddings will not lead you to become excessively obese. It is overeating that leads to obesity not simple eating.

Because nearly everybody loves their food especially the most deliciously wicked delights. Do not deprive yourself of them but to remember that what you eat will have to be worked off.

Exercise need not be a joyless endeavor, it can be fun. Who made the rules when it comes to exercise? If you are a mother of young girls then when you finish your evening meal go outside in your yard and play with them. Remember the hoola hoop, hop scotch or a skipping rope? Age should be no barrier to good old fashioned fun. For a half hour or so jump around with real exuberance and have a laugh. Then of course there's such things as baseball or basketball and if you have a trampoline even better.

Personally I loathe the usual 'work out mentally'. I hate gyms, especially uni-sex gyms. There are just some positions one has to take while excercising that men should not see! What I found that works for me is to dance. I simply made up my own CD with 2 fast songs and then one slow one. I dance in the privacy of my room, it is great fun. Let's face it we wont persevere doing something we loathe so choose an excercise regime that works for you.

In this way we end up having the best of both worlds. We are enjoying our food without feelings of guilt as well as gaining the exercise our bodies need to work off those delectable treats.

In all things moderation is the keyword, enjoy all food in moderation. This way you and your family will be living life to the full while enjoying the fruits of your labor which can be found in food and good old fashioned family fun.

Embrace life. Eat well and most importantly keep a spirit of fun and exuberance.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

I remember when Titanic was being made and that wonderful actor Kate Winslet was attacked by the media for being 'too fat for the role'. How pathetic and how wrong can the media get it? Does Kate look too fat for the role? What do YOU think?

I also remember when Elle Mcpherson had her baby and 2 weeks later she was attacked for 'not losing her baby fat fast enough' how illogical and insane is the media view of women?

Then Tyra Banks had the audacity to gain some curves and yes, you guessed right she was also attacked by the media for being ' too fat for TV'. What do YOU think?

Here are the ladies that the media find acceptable half starved actresses. Is this YOUR view of a healthy woman? Why is Lindsay Lohan drunk and out of control? Could it be that she drinks to stop the hunger pangs? Is this YOUR idea of a healthy example for teens? What do YOU think?

The biggest myth for plus size ladies is to be told they need to diet. Upon hearing this many then rush out and buy the latest diet books and DVD's, thereby feeding a billion dollar industry.

Stop it!

It is not another fad diet one needs. It is a lifestyle change. When you decide that the weight that you are now carrying is unhealthy for you personally, then it is time to take a hard look at your lifestyle.

First consult your doctor for a general check-up if you find that your BP and cholosterol levels are too high then change is not only needed it is crucial. You owe it to yourself and to your family to maintain your health, but how do you do that?

A lifestyle change means exactly that. So be sure you choose to eat the foods that are not only healthy but what you enjoy eating. Remember this is not a diet. This is the way you will be eating for the majority of your life.

This is not an occasion to be glum as if the joy of eating has been denied you. Be excited about your choices, revel at the excitement of reading healthy recipe books. Enjoy experimenting with nutritious ingredients and making whole new dishes for yourself and your family.

It is all about positive thinking and motivation and enjoying the process. Do not chain yourself to your weight scales. There is no need to be obsessive about the numbers on a scale. Rather turn it around and simply aim to go down a dress size or two. That sounds much better than being forced to lose 14-28 pounds or stones or kilo's, you will feel overwhelmed before you even begin.

Remember why you are doing this. You are doing it for YOU. Make sure you are not aiming for a dress size that would best suit an anorexic. Be realistic about your goals and then maintain your weight at a size where YOU feel comfortable and happy.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

The presenter of this reality show is Gok Wan and he has done more for women in the past few years than all the diet magazines and books combined. Gok, has a real compassion for women irrespective of their size and he teaches that we are all beautiful. The women on his show really do learn how to look gorgeous!

'How To Look Good Naked' is tastefully done, in that there is no full frontal nudity just an appreciation for the 'real' female form. It is not pornography. It is about making a woman look and feel beautiful and he succeeds.

Below is a snippet of 'How To Look Good Naked'.

The second series of his show will be shown in Australia on Foxtel or Austar in September. Check your channel book for details.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

There is a reality show called 'How To Look Good Naked', if it is showing in your country I would suggest you watch it.

I was amazed when watching this show to see how many women loathe their natural bodies and none of these women were hugely overweight, they were normal. Many broke down in tears when looking at themselves in the mirror and yet they were perfectly normal women with the usual lumps and bumps.

What we need to understand is that in many cases women who are models and actors are starving themselves or they are taking drugs in order to suppress their appetites. Another case in point is that when these models and actors do show up for their photo shoots the end product has been refined and 'touched up' to look 'perfect'.

In order to truly rise above this level of propoganda we need to take a realistic look at who and what we are and rely less on the media for our validation.

To see such self loathing was truly revelatory. These ladies were speaking of themselves as if they were Quasimodo, to ugly to face the world.

It is time to be more discerning in what we are reading and watching lest we join the queue of self loathing, neurotic women who no longer see their vibrant beautiful selves but instead are led to believe they do not deserve to be happy. Why? Because of their weight? Who led these women to believe they are not worthy of respect? And in the end why did they listen?

When you look in the mirror do you see a true and realistic reflection of yourself or do you think you are too ugly to be happy?

This woman was driven to tears because she thought herself too fat to be happy. What do YOU think?

Saturday, August 11, 2007

When we look back at classic art, paintings and sculptures, what kind of women do we see? Women who are not a size zero! The only skinny ones are the dead skeletons. Up to some years ago, we were plump and happy. What are we today? Miserable, starving, depressed and unhappy.

I believe it was when Twiggy, this British model that looked like a twig, hence her nickname, became a total success during the 60's, women and men went crazy, embracing this body type and making it our ‘new model’. Her body shape became the norm.

Because of Twiggy and the new model body shape, everyone started dieting. The craze had begun. The food and the pharmaceutical industries, physicians, nutritionists, researchers, Hollywood and everyone jumped on the bandwagon. The billion dollar dieting industry was born.

A cult of thinness envelops us and is evidenced by the growing number of eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa and bulimia. We have suffered this self and social imposition to be skinny and shapeless for over 35 years! For over 35 years we have starved, overate, bounced back and forth, become yo-yos, suffered low self- esteem, developed eating disorders, become bulimic and anorexic, lost the pleasure of eating, developed self-hatred, searched for an identity based on our poor self-image, become addicted to exercise, gone through more plastic surgery than we care to admit, and so on and so forth.

On our quest for the perfect skinny body, we have lost hope. According to the ‘norm’, we are all at least 20 lbs overweight! But in reality we are just showing a naturally shaped body. This game we have been played lately takes no winner, we are all losers and very much unhappy. It is now time to stop.

It’s time we women wake up and realize that a body made of sticks is the illusion of few and that false reality has got give way to the real reality: women have curves! Think about the freedom you will have when you realize that it is all right to carry your body in a rounder way. This is the shape we have.

Let's stop this nonsense and accept ourselves as we truly are: more like Marilyn and Sophia much less like Twiggy. Sure, let's exercise and eat balanced and nutritious meals then, let's look in the mirror and admire our curves. They are our blueprint. They are part of us. Only then, we will be in peace with ourselves and find true happiness.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

At times women are their own worst enemies in that we have placed our trust in another person's opinion of us. By doing this we are setting ourselves up as people pleasers. We will do anything to be loved except the obvious we have no love for ourselves. How did we get here?

The media began a propoganda campaign many years ago and we all bought into it. They served up a dish called self loathing and we asked for seconds. Large women are not allowed to enjoy life, no! We must hang our heads in shame, we live our lives in apology for our size. How dare we be big and an even worse sin how dare we be happy about our plus size.

Where did the idea that large women were to be despised and denigrated spring from? Once again the media via magazines, TV and cartoons, you know the 'fat woman jokes'? Guess what they are not funny! Would we make fun of the disabled? Or a person from another religion or race? Society doesn't tolerate that kind of 'humour' it's now called 'hate crimes'. Yet when it comes to plus size women all bets are off and society applauds this acceptable prejudice.

How do we stop this prejudice it stops with YOU! Women who happen to be a plus size need to re-learn to love who they are where they are. Do not deprive yourself of happiness, do not fall into the 'I'll only be happy when I'm a size 6' mind set. If you are not happy now you wont be happy at size 6 either. You will be skinny and miserable, you will become so self absorbed that happiness will be a memory.

Women need to re-learn that Big is beautiful. YOU are beautiful. Do not settle for less. YOU yes YOU are a worthwhile beautiful creation of God. You were born to love and be loved and that love begins with yourself.

Sunday, August 5, 2007

In Today's media we are assaulted daily with what we are 'supposed' to look like. Images of stick thin and starving models and actresses are plastered on nearly every women's magazines. Do these women magazines have it right?

I read in a magazine that in today's world Marilyn Monroe would be considered overweight, right alongside Sophia Loren and Jane Russel. Essentially these lovely ladies would never have a career in today's society because they would be considered 'fat'.

Who are these weight Gestapo? They are the publishers of magazines which try and dictate how a woman should look. They are invariably dictating to YOU! The tragedy is many women are buying into this dictatorial approach to women's issues.

Let's face it there is money to be made in making women feel miserable about themselves. Weight companies, diet books and DVD's, personal trainers etc exist on their ability to seduce you into self loathing. This is not a healthy approach to good living.

We dont need to spend billions of dollars on diet fad books or the latest diet pill what we need is a healthy approach to our bodies and what we put into them. What women need to do is to simply eat in moderation, which means you can have your slice of cake and eat it too, you just cant eat the entire cake!

One of the greatest pleasures in life is eating delicious food. There is nothing wrong in eating good and tasty food so long as we watch the portion size.

So ladies are you sick and tired of being told what you should look like? Rather than accept the dictatorial approach of making us hate our own bodies, learn to live with your shapely bumps. Don't fall into the 'thin at all costs' neurosis but instead celebrate your curves!

Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Are you as tired of the media war against women as we are? If so then this is the place for you. We will be discussing issues integral to our Faith and also social issues which affect us and our families.

You dont have to be a size 6 in order to be found worthy. This site is about supporting and validating one another irrespective of a woman's dress size be you a size 6 or 26.